222905 Pvt. Robert Eugene Lee United States Army 17B 12th Armored Division from:Montana My father, Robert Eugene Lee, was captured in Herrlisheim, France on Jan 18, 1945 and transported to Stalag XIB.
He lost 75 pounds in 3 months. He tells of using his Boy Scout training to spot edible plants. For instance, he boiled dandelions and ate them. When the others saw he didn't get sick, soon all of the dandelions in camp were plucked up, and he looked for another edible plant. According to Dad, the German guards knew the war was lost at that point and weren't too bad, but "you had to watch out for the Hitler Youth".
Dad was most proud of the fact that the GI's never lost their sense of humor. Consequently, his favorite TV show for years was "Hogan's Heroes". He also spoke of hearing the bombers going overhead, and how encouraging that was. It took about a week after the camp was liberated for Dad to be transported out, due to the large number of POW's who were waiting. Bob Lee still lives in Northern California.
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